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| Bala Nggilari |
The letter used by the
convicted former Adamawa governor, Bala Ngilari, to secure bail is fraudulent,
an official has said.
PREMIUM
TIMES report continues:
The
letter, which supposedly confirmed Mr. Nggilari’s bad health situation, was the
major one he presented to a Yola High Court and upon which the court granted
him bail.
Justice
Nathan Musa of the Yola High Court on Monday granted bail to Mr. Nggilari,
currently in the prison for a five-year jail sentence.
The
former governor has appealed against his conviction.
Peter
Tenkwa, the Controller of Adamawa Command of the Nigerian Prison Service, NPS,
told journalists on Monday in Yola that he was not aware of the letter and had
communicated to the prison headquarters.
He
said the headquarters directed him to issue a query to officials involved in
the matter, including the Deputy Controller of Yola Prison, Abubakar Abaka, and
a Superintendent of Prisons, John Bukar, in charge of health.
“Nigeria
Prison Service, as I stated, knows nothing about this letter; whoever wrote
that letter is on his own. I have been directed to query the officers
involved.”
Mr.
Tenkwa said that all he knew was that he got a letter dated March 23 from
Adamawa Ministry of Justice on health facilities in Yola Prison where Mr.
Nggilari was remanded and that after accessing the facilities, he replied to the
letter, informing the ministry that the facilities were okay.
“We
have enough medical facilities to handle high profile inmates like Nggilari; we
even received some supply of drugs on Friday,” Tenkwa said.
Mr.
Tenkwa, however, said that he had yet to get a release order from the court
regarding Nggilari’s bail, adding that whenever he received it, he would contact
the service’ legal department before acting on it.
Also
commenting on the issue, the Attorney-General of Adamawa and Commissioner for
Justice, Bala Sanga, said the bail granted Mr. Nggilari was a disturbing development.
“The
chamber of attorney general is very worried and disturbed about this granting
of bail pending appeal to our former governor; this is a legal remedy that is
very rarely granted.”
Mr.
Sanga said that he was more disturbed that the letter acted on in granting the
bail was not exhibited with the appellant’s application nor attached to the
documents.
“Technically
what this means is that the letter was not even before the court.
“So,
the court, in my opinion, has no business relying on a document that was not
before it to arrive at a decision.”
Mr.
Sanga said that the purported letter claiming that Nggilari was facing serious
health problem was dated March 23, while the letter to the ministry from the
prison service, which confirmed that the authorities had the necessary
facilities to handle Mr. Nggilari, was dated March 24.
“This
is very scandalous, if indeed the prison says it did not issue the letter.
“We
intend not to file a complaint against whoever wrote that letter but to refer
the matter to the police for prosecution because the court relied significantly
on that letter to grant the bail,” Mr. Sanga said.
Mr.
Sanga said that the disease was not contagious hence the bail was unnecessary.
Justice
Musa, on March 6, sentenced Mr. Nggilari to five years in prison, without an
option of fine, for violating the Public Procurement Act in the award of
contract for the procurement of 25 vehicles.
Mr. Nggilari was given an
option to select a prison of his choice to serve the term.
Controversy As
Court Grants Nggilari Bail
 |
Former
Adamawa State governor, Bala Nggilari
|
2 prison officers queried over alleged health report forgery
Daily
Trust reports that the Adamawa State High Court has granted bail to former
Adamawa State governor, Bala Nggilari who was convicted of corruption and
jailed five years.
Justice
Nathan Musa granted the bail yesterday in the sum of ₦100 million and two
sureties on health ground after his counsel, Sam Ologunorisa (SAN) told the
court that the health of his client had been deteriorating on daily basis.
Nggilari
who filed an appeal challenging his conviction is currently serving his term in
Yola Prison.
A
letter from the Adamawa State Command of the Prison Service signed by John
Bukar, a Superintendent of Prisons in charge of Medical unit at Yola Prison which
was read out before the court stated that Nggilari’s blood pressure had kept
rising since he was brought to the prison on the 6th of March 2017.
The
letter stated that the latest test showed that Nggilari’s blood pressure rose
to 200 /100 MM HG while his sugar level lowered to160 Gm /D as his condition
was made worse by complete loss of appetite, sleepless nights and dehydration.
The
letter therefore recommended his referral to the Canadian Hospital in the United
Arab Emirates.
Justice
Musa ruled that the letter from the prison alone provided sufficient evidence
that the appellant was in a serious medical condition and therefore
required urgent attention.
However,
the state Controller of Prisons, Peter Tenkwa dissociated his command from the
letter, saying the letter did not emanate from the prisons authority.
He
said the national headquarters of the Service had directed him to issue query
to the officer in charge of Yola Prison, Abubakar Abaka, a deputy controller
and Bukar, the medical officer who signed the letter, on the strength of which
the bail was granted.
When
contacted, the Adamawa State Attorney General, Silas Sanga described the
court’s decision as appalling, saying the prison authorities had on 24 March
written to him about the good health condition of Nggilari while the letter
tendered in court was written on March 23.
Nggilari had three weeks ago been handed a five-year jail term by Justice Musa for violating due process in procurement of 25 Toyota vehicles when he served as governor between October 2014 and May 2015
Editor's Note: This story has been revised to reflect a correction on the name spelling of the former governor.
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